Health news round-up: cardiovascular research special

A flurry of cardiovascular disease (CVD) news dominated the health headlines this week, as the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) held a joint congress with the World Congress of Cardiology from 29 August 2025 to 1 September 2025.

Is current practice sufficient to manage hypertension and lipids?

Papers presented at the event included a phase III AstraZeneca trial on baxdrostat, an aldosterone synthase inhibitor. When baxdrostat was added to ongoing treatment for patients with uncontrolled or resistant hypertension, it resulted in a significantly lower seated systolic blood pressure at 12 weeks compared with placebo.

The ESC also shared updated guidelines on the management of dyslipidaemias, which takes into account new treatment options. This recommends new cardiovascular risk predication algorithms — SCORE2 and SCORE2-OP for people aged 70–89 years — which predict ten-year risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events and assess both mortality and morbidity. NICE guidance currently recommends using QRISK3 to determine the risk of a heart attack or stroke over the next ten years.

The updated ESC guidance also recommends the use of statins to prevent CVD in patients with HIV aged 40 years and older, which echoes recommendations from the British HIV Association. It also notes that clinicians should consider prescribing bempedoic acid for patients who are not able to take statins.

A whole-patient approach to CVD therapies

Another study presented at the ESC congress highlighted both progress and persistent challenges in the representation of women within cardiovascular trials, which the study authors said could “perpetuate inequities in evidence-based care for women with CV conditions”.

Another study, published on 30 August 2025, suggested that beta blockers may offer no benefit for heart attack patients and could even lead to worse outcomes in women. Ruszala commented that while the trial “does call into question the idea that all patients should be initiated on beta-blocker therapy”, it was likely to be of more use for professionals to make individualised decisions, rather than influencing guidance for all patients.

“We also have to remember that there is clear proven benefit for those with comorbid atrial fibrillation, angina or reduced ejection fraction, so trying to subdivide populations can lead to inappropriate choices being made,” she said, highlighting another paper presented at ESC that did find benefit up to an ejection fraction of 50%. 

Meanwhile, a consensus statement presented at the conference suggested that there is currently insufficient awareness among healthcare professionals of the prevalence of mental health conditions and their impact on increasing the risk of developing CVD. It also suggested how this could be overcome, including mental health professionals checking for CV risk factors during appointments and vice versa.

Could AI enable non-medics to do more in CVD management?

Ruszala said her highlight from the joint congress was the discussion on how AI could be used to transform cardiovascular care, including changing the role of cardiologists and allied health professionals, and potentially enabling non-medics to do more.

GLP-1s suggest more than 40% risk reduction for heart failure

Also in cardiovascular news this week, a study using data from three national US insurance claims databases suggested that in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, semaglutide and tirzepatide showed more than 40% risk reduction for the composite of hospitalisation for heart failure or all-cause mortality compared with a placebo proxy.

Pharmacists recognised as part of the heart failure multidisciplinary team

Updated NICE guidelines on chronic heart failure, released this week, have explicitly named pharmacists as part of the heart failure multidisciplinary team for the first time. Medicines will now be introduced earlier in the treatment pathway, which could enable primary care pharmacists to take on more management of the condition.